Paw

How to spell paw

3 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce paw

What does paw mean?

1. nounThe clawed or padded foot of a four-legged animal such as a dog, cat or bear.
2. verbTo scrape or strike at something with a paw, or to handle it clumsily with the hands.

Paw in a sentence

• noun

  The dog lifted its injured paw for the vet to examine.

• verb

  The horse began to paw at the stable floor in impatience.

• noun

  A muddy paw print was pressed into the kitchen floor.

• verb

  The puppy will paw the door whenever it wants to come inside.

Where does paw come from?

Language of origin: French

Paw came into Middle English as 'powe' or 'pawe', borrowed from Old French 'poue' or 'powe', which named the foot of a beast equipped with claws or nails. The Old French word is generally thought to have Germanic roots, related to forms tied to the idea of a striking or grasping limb. From the start it described the clawed foot of a four-legged animal rather than a human foot, and that distinction has held steady to the present day. By extension the verb 'to paw' grew up alongside it, meaning to scrape or strike with a paw, and later to handle something clumsily or roughly with the hands. The spelling trap is small but real: the 'aw' carries the whole vowel, and in non-rhotic British speech the word sounds identical to 'pour', 'pore' and 'poor', so the ear is no help in choosing the letters.

How the word is built

• paw (single root; from Old French powe meaning the foot of an animal)